Fergie snub won't turn off FA Cup sponsors

Even Sir Alex Ferguson demeaning the FA Cup semi-final with his Manchester United team selection hasn't affected tournament sponsors E.ON's enthusiasm to sign a four-year renewal of their near £40million contract.

This has left the FA super confident the German utilities company will agree a new deal well in advance of their contract expiring at the end of next season.

With the FA's other major backer Nationwide positive about extending their agreement, the FA's next four-year sponsorship programme from 2010 is on a healthy footing at a time of doubts around the Setanta TV deal.

E.ON will also welcome the FA decision to unify Wembley and FA commercial activity to avoid sponsorships from the same sector competing with each other.

This will mean the end of npower's backing of the Wembley arch for as long as their service provider rivals remain connected with the FA Cup.

The arrival of former British Olympic Association chief Simon Clegg as chief executive of Ipswich Town will give owner Marcus Evans more excuse to remain the most secretive proprietor in English football.

Evans wants Clegg to become the face of Ipswich while the owner stays unrecognised. Clegg, who says he's 'joined at the hip' policy-wise with Evans, persuaded the secondary ticket market millionaire to invest in the BOA's Beijing operation.

But the chances of Evans backing the BOA's 2012 fund raising are zero after the way they removed his pal from office.

Resting F1 engineer Mike Gascoyne is understood to fancy his chances of elbowing out resident analyst Eddie Jordan following his one-off appearance as a BBC pundit at the Chinese Grand Prix last weekend.

Gascoyne, once the highest paid engineer in motorsport, reckons feedback from his Beeb debut has been 'brilliant' and is making no secret of his ambition to usurp EJ, who will be back for the Bahrain GP.

The All Party parliamentary football group's recommendation for more supporter representation on the FA Council will send the blazers into meltdown. They are already losing the will to live listening to Malcolm Clarke, chairman of the Football Supporters Federation, who has a lengthy, tedious view on every subject raised.

Clarke, a council new boy following the Burns Report recommendations, asked for FA advice on council protocol. He was told to keep his head down for a couple of meetings. Instead he was on his feet laying down the law after five minutes - and he hasn't stopped since.

The sponsorship of the MPs' football report by the French-owned Thales company, who provide heat-seeking Exocet missiles among other weapons, is an uncomfortable alliance.

Similarly bizarre is the claim of the All Party football group chairman Alan Keen, who stands high on the list of MPs who claim the most expenses, that he had to pay the £1,400 cost of transcribing the BBC-televised tapes of his group's football interviews out of his own pocket.

One of the more sensible of the report recommendations was that the Premier League increase their board of directors from the current two of chairman and chief executive. But this has been voted down by the League's 20 member clubs.

The best moment at the grand opening of the year-delayed Marriott Hotel in Twickenham's South Stand was when special guest Jason Leonard was mistaken for RFU chief executive Francis Baron at the photoshoot by photographers accompanying hotel chain overlord Bill Marriott.

Leonard has a recordbreaking 114 England caps, while Baron tends to wear his initialled England tracksuit only around the team hotel. The real Baron said the 156-room hotel would become as iconic as the stadium, a tad over the top, but it is an impressive addition.